@MYOS1634 ,I appreciate the positive reinforcement! Really makes me less stressed about the whole going to college thing haha. As far as tours go, I did a full campus tour at UW and then spoke to the ChemE department advisor. I really do like the modern and urban feel. For WSU, I have a tour on march 6th, where I will get to take a look at everything on campus. The two vibes really are a lot different, which is what is making my decision so hard. If I could somehow have WSU be new and urban and be located in seattle, then I would for sure go there… I guess it wouldnt really be WSU then haha.
For AP credit, if your college allows you to skip a course, try the college’s old final exam for that course to see if you are ready for the next course in the sequence.
Students in small college towns like Pullman tend to make their own fun. It’s a really different vibe from an urban university. The students all live in close proximity - either on campus or in apartments that cater to university students. The town may have a small downtown area that caters primarily to the students. Often, social life thrives on the campus itself - all the parties and social events and interesting things not only student-wise, but in the community, happen on campus. I used to work at a large state university in a small college town (Penn State) and I remember attending all kinds of interesting things on campus I would never have been able to get into when I lived in New York - too many people would’ve been interested. (Laverne Cox came to speak; Yo-Yo Ma came to play; Broadway shows came to the campus theater; Kevin Hart did a show at the campus stadium, etc.)
It’s really up to what you find fun. If the “stereotypical college experience” you see in movies appeals to you - large green, rural campus, kids playing soccer on the quad, parties on campus, insular dorm life - then WSU’s social life will probably suit you fine. If you prefer an urban experience in which you and your friends pool your pennies and go out to the newest restaurants, the trendiest cafes, see indie music, visit art museums, go to the symphony - then the urban UW vibe will probably suit you better. (And many students would thrive in either!)
Wsu has more of an outdoors and frat party vibe. Uw is more “urban” in all meanings of the word.
Have you applied to the U 's honors program ? You should… This way, problem solved, you have your dream university 
@juillet , thank you so much for the long response. I really appreciate you putting in some time to help a naive soon to be college student. You descriptions of the two really made the general vibes a lot more clear to me, and I am beginning to think I would like the more traditional experience at WSU. Thanks again!
@MYOS1634 , Unfortunately you can no longer apply to the UW honors program 
Except I think I would have a difficult time enough at UW keeping my GPA high enough to be accepted into the ChemE program, let alone participate in their honors college too. Thanks for the response!
Wait until you get notification from UW and pay close attention to whether it includes direct admission to your major.
“Washington State’s vibe is VERY different from Seattle’s and UW’s.”
What an understatement!!! LOL. If you like coffee, you’ll be happy at UW. If you love lentils, you’ll love the Palouse and WSU; largest lentil growing region in the WORLD!
@ucbalumnus , I agree. I think I’ve decided that it would be in my best interest to attend WSU if I don’t get direct admission to UW.
^ Frankly, with your credentials, you’d be very well positioned to get your major at UW even if by some fluke you’re not a direct-admit. Don’t choose WSU because you’re afraid. Don’t make your choice until after visiting: if you think the environment “fits’” you better at WSU (and it’ll be very clear, I think), then you have a terrific option.
Keep us updated!
@MYOS1634 , thanks so much for the help, I really do appreciate it. After my visit at WSU, and after I get my letter from UW I will be sure to let you know my decision
Hey RJ,
I am a current junior in electrical engineering at WSU. I really enjoy my time here and I am excited about the subjects in which I am enrolled. Every day is pretty much a new topic that fires me up. I had a pretty solid performance in high school, but college totally caught me off guard. When I was thinking of coming here, I looked into the honors college and I thought that would be the route for me. I’m telling you, the honors college is a bit of a joke. Pursuing a degree in chemical engineering will be plenty prestigious and time consuming enough. I have a small spread of friends across most all engineering programs and I’ve never heard of any engineering student being in the honors college, but I’m far from omniscient.
I’ll tell ya that everyone I knew as a freshman who started out in chemical engineering switched majors. I had three people close to me (one a roommate, another friend, and a third friend) all switch majors after 3 or 4 semesters into the degree. Hope it suits you, I know I would personally be very interested in that topic if it weren’t for my passion in electrical engineering.
Good luck, I’m sure you’ll be happy no matter where you go. Remember, college is mostly a course in life and less in academics. You’ll learn triumph, failure, patience, finances, and more that directly apply to having a successful life.
I also wanted to state that I’ve already had one summer internship with a major corporation (can’t say who via internet) and I have absolutely no worries about my future career. I feel as I will be FULLY prepared to be a competent professional in my field. I actually think the STEM programs at WSU are great! There’s a wide selection (maybe not as large as UW) but we have a very solid set of engineering schools. Come visit the campus, RJ! Sit in on a few classes! Skip sitting in on all the freshman and sophomore classes. Junior classes are where you’ll really get to see some content to sink your teeth into.
@cjacksoh91 , thanks so much for the personal reply, one of the most helpful responds I’ve had. Why do you believe the honors college is a joke? Obviously I have no knowledge on it besides what is on the website, I just figured it would give me some good opportunities to get involved in research, participate in smaller classes, and earn more scholarships + travel abroad.
You say the three friends who started in chemE ended up switching majors, do you know why? I’ve been seconding guessing that choice as well and would probably choose mechanical/materials engineering instead of chemical, or even electrical. The research I’ve come across has implied that chemical engineers generally have to move in order to find a job, and are typically limited in career options
(obviously that isn’t always the case). That is why I’m considering mechanical engineering. Do you have any insight on the issue?
As far as visits go, I am going to the March 6th tour date that gives you a renewable $1000 scholarship! Hopefully i will get a chance to sit in on a class at that point.
Thanks again for the help, it’s awesome to get a perspective from someone who is in the WSU engineering department! I hope I will be as passionate about my career like you one day.
Mechanical engineering is freaking awesome. I was a personal trainer for 3 years here at the university and I trained a mechanical engineering professor. He was very friendly and encouraging about my coursework and it was very useful to probe his mind about various topics. I basically got a sum-up of the entire thermodynamics course in 10 minutes once haha. As far as studying chemical engineering vs mechanical engineering goes…Chem E is useful if you want to work specifically with petroleum or if you decide to go for med school. Chem E vs microbiology degrees look pretty good comparatively on a med school application (I heard from a guy who got into med school who had a chem e degree). Mechanincal engineering is probably one of the most broad topics you can study. I’ve taken a few mechanical engineering courses and I liked the subject material. As an ME, you can go into petroleum as well (I’ve got a friend who works for Exxon in Alaska with an ME degree) as well as other fields.
If it were me, I would start off as an intended ME and after taking chemistry and physics (Freshman/Sophomore years) decide if you’d like to switch to Chem E.
As far as the honor society goes, well, it’s my opinion (and the opinion of my classmates – I asked them on Friday) that being an honor student while in engineering is useless because if your goal is to have small classes then engineering classes = small classes. The only exception to that rule is in the first year or two. Freshman/Sophomore classes tend to have large class sizes. I had a friend who took honors physics and he loved it so perhaps you’d be interested in being in the honor society until you actually take engineering classes.
It’s my opinion the only reason to be in the honor society is for the bragging rights. That’s probably not true, but it’s the overarching opinion of most people here.
Who knows! If you like electronics and video games and electricity and all that jazz perhaps you should consider EE too! I’d highly recommend it since I’m going through the program right now.
Honors College is useful because you get priority registration and thus get to choose the best professors as well as the schedule that works best for you (if, say, you’re not an early riser, or if you want Wednesday off for an externship…), plus the Honors Gen eds are small, interactive classes (Honors students get their best grades in Honors classes because that’s how they like to learn) taught by the best professors so you get to avoid TAs and adjuncts. Generally ( but you’d have to check at both UW* and WSU) Honors Housing is the best housing freshmen can get (with substance free, sometimes - due to no risk of drunken trashing of the hall.) It’s true Honors is most useful during the first two years, when odds are you’ll have lots of large, lecture-driven classes, and when being in Honors helps you ‘get your foot in the door’ for research.
*You can still apply at the beginning of Spring Quarter. They’ll use your grades from Fall and Winter quarter to decide whether to admit you.
@cjacksoh91 , thanks again, your reply makes me super excited to get into the engineering classes. My calculus class right now is one of the only classes I look forward to going to everyday, I love learning the new topics. I can’t imagine how cool the engineering classes get
On the WSU website it says you need 15 honors credits total to graduate with an honors degree. Do you know if it’s 15 in social science, arts and humanities, and interdisciplinary sciences together? Or 15 in each separately?
I’m curious about electrical engineering. I’m super into video games and computers. Could you give an example of what an EE would do? And what personally you find so awesome about it?
One last question I have is do you recommend using AP credits or retaking the class? For example, I got a 3 on the AP Chem test, and could opt out of the first General Chem class at WSU. However, I feel as though I could use a refresher on the subject and would maybe want to learn it better.
Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it!
@MYOS1634 , I was unaware that you could apply for the spring quarter at UW, thanks for the heads up! Like you said, and cjacksoh91 did, I think the smaller classes would be a great option. The option to get priority registering would also be a bonus. Just out of curiosity, where do/did you go to school? And what is your major if you have one?
Thanks!
Until you know whether or not you have gotten into UW with your chosen major and until you see whatever financial package UW might offer, I think it’s too early to decide. The cost may end up being comparable. If you do get into Chem E at UW, I would go for it! They wouldn’t admit you if they didn’t think you were capable of the work.
Try not to let fear guide you!
@mamaedefamilia , you’re right. I think I have a tendency to listen to the bad experiences and influences about a specific college rather than the good ones. My biggest worry is that at UW the undergraduate have a difficult time because UW is so focused on their graduates and so focused on research the the underclass man don’t get an ideal academic experience/ environment. Also I’m a tiny bit worried that the engineering at UW will be super difficult. Obviously that could just be one individuals opinion, and I think I need to try to look past negatives that people portray about UW, considering it such a high caliber and amazing school.
Thanks for the encouragement, if I get direct admission I’ll consider it heavily, not letting fear guide me.
For WSU, a 3 on AP chemistry can be used for CHEM 105. Try to find a WSU CHEM 105 final exam and see if you know the material on it well.
For UW, a 3 on AP chemistry can be used for CHEM 142. Try to find a UW CHEM 142 final exam and see if you know the material on it well.